Usually Castle Welsh Crafts flies the flags of both teams playing in a big match. But not on this most historic of footballing days for the nation.
“Today it’s all Wales,” said Tess McKenzie. “It’s just one of those huge days for the team and for the country. As soon as we can we’re going to get the ladders out and replace all the flags flying now [including a union flag] with Welsh ones.”
Big match build up in Cardiff. Tess McKenzie of Castle Welsh Crafts. pic.twitter.com/WbR1krS3Xg
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) June 16, 2016
Actually they may not get the time to do it. As soon as the shop doors opened, Welsh football fans were buying up flags, shirts and cuddly red dragons. “We’ve been selling more flags than you can throw a stick at,” said McKenzie.
Big match build up in Cardiff. Cuddly Welsh dragons. pic.twitter.com/lIkItFFErl
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) June 16, 2016
Despite Welsh star Gareth Bale’s attempts to stir things up by suggesting that the Welsh have more pride than the English, McKenzie (who has an un-Welsh surname because she is married to an Irishman) said relations between the two countries’ citizens were good. “It’s banter. This is a good day for banter.”
Next to the statue of Aneurin Bevan, the revered architect of the NHS, Ray Murphy was doing a good trade in brollies and hats. A grim forecast threatened to make the fanzone behind the castle a soggy place to be. Murphy was hoping for a result that might suit both teams. “I wouldn’t mind 1-1 and the possibility that Wales and England could go through. That would be good for everyone.”
Murphy watched on with a grin as something of a football/EU referendum mash-up unfolded. The SNP’s Alex Salmond was in town to meet the Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, and try to persuade voters that staying in the EU was good for the Celtic nations.
At one point the pair were harangued by a beer-can-clutching football fan in an England shirt chanting “Out, out, out.” Both Wood and Salmond were hoping to find a quieter spot later from which to watch the game.
Big match build up in Cardiff. SNP MP Alex Salmond and Plaid leader Leanne Wood - with an England fan. pic.twitter.com/KVNEMGTeWD
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) June 16, 2016
Across Wales, fans have been laying down plans for how to follow the match. The South Wales Echo summed it up: “At 2pm, the nation may as well hang a big ‘do not disturb’ sign on the Severn Crossing.”
Some schools, such as Nant Celyn primary in Cwmbran, gave pupils and parents three options – to watch the game at school, go home to view it or simply carry on with lessons. Others waived normal uniform policy and allowed children to wear red shirts for the special day.
Some employers allowed workers to start early so they could finish in time to watch the game. Two of south Wales’ biggest firms, insurance company Admiral and GoCompare, installed television screens around their offices.
Rhodri Evans, of FSB Wales, which supports small businesses, said it had carried out a survey suggesting that a fifth of businesses were allowing staff time off and another fifth were installing screens. He said he hoped that more Welsh success would create a “Bale bounce” for the country’s economy – the hope is that it will not just be the flag-seller and pint-pullers that will benefit but the whole nation will be boosted.
We should take advantage of #BaleBounce for the Welsh economy. Lots of international eyes on #Wales #EURO2016 #TogetherStronger ⚽️
— Wales FSB Cymru (@FSB_Wales) June 16, 2016
But the FSB survey also suggests that lots of businesses were not accommodating their employee’s football needs. Jimmy (for good reason he asked that his surname not be revealed) was to be found browsing for a new Welsh shirt in a sports shop in the centre of Cardiff when he should have been at work in a factory up in the valleys.
“I rang up and said I had a migraine,” said Jimmy. “Of course they didn’t believe it but sometimes you have to tell a little white lie. We haven’t been at a major tournament for more than 50 years. It may not happen again in my lifetime. I don’t want to be stuck at work when it happens. I’ll take the consequences tomorrow.”
